Chancer George Osborne will be branded a “card sharp” who is gambling with the economy this week.

Labour’s Ed Balls will accuse the Chancellor of risking a new ­recession with a “double ­whammy” of cuts and stealth taxes. His blunders threaten a “jobs bonfire”, the Shadow Chancellor will warn.

The Labour heavyweight, promoted in last month’s reshuffle, aims to land a knock-out punch on Mr ­Osborne in their first Commons Question Time clash on Tuesday. Mr Balls will be armed with a raft of evidence from the City, think-tanks, big accountants and unions showing the ­Government’s tactics of slashing spending fast will plunge Britain into ­deeper gloom.

He will say: “Millions of families cannot afford this risky gamble with their lives. There are dark clouds on the horizon.”

Mr Balls’ ­dossier shows:

&#61592; Over 350,000 public ­sector jobs will be lost by the summer, with 500,000 going in the private sector.

&#61592; Around 146,000 council jobs have already been shed so far.

&#61592;Business and ­consumer confidence fell last month by the biggest amount recorded for 18 years.

&#61592; A jump in oil prices will increase inflation, currently 3.8 per cent, by at least half a percentage point this year on top of the VAT hike.

&#61592; Real disposable income for those in work will fall by 0.8 per cent.

&#61592; Government income in the next quarter will be less than forecast, says the Office of Budget ­Responsibility.

She told the Sunday Mirror: “Osborne has made the choice to cut too far, too fast. Without a plan for growth and jobs you can’t get the deficit down.”

Labour’s case will be bolstered by the Institute of Fiscal Studies’ warning that a black hole in the coalition’s plans means a further £4.3billion will have to be found, from taxing middle earners more or making extra cuts.